Hot Topics:

More than 100 turned out for community prayer night for Kortne Stouffer

By LES STEWARTLebanon Daily News

Updated:
09/11/2012 02:39:33 PM EDT

With posters of her missing daughter affixed to the rope behind her, Wendy Stouffer welcomes supporters to a community prayer night for Kortne Stouffer at the Northern Lebanon High School stadium on Monday. Kortne, 21, a 2009 Northern Lebanon graduate, was last seen at her Palmyra home early July 29. Wendy s shirt reads Come Home Kortne. (LEBANON DAILY NEWS BARBARA WEST)

FREDERICKSBURG - Crystal Rhoads knows that if her child were missing, she would need the community's support.

Rhoads, who lives in Fredericksburg, was among the more than 100 people who gathered at the Northern Lebanon High School football stadium on a chilly Monday evening for a community night of prayer for Kortne Stouffer.

"I think it's important for the community to stick together," she said.

The 21-year-old Stouffer vanished from her apartment at 810 W. Main St., Palmyra, sometime after 3:45 a.m. on July 29. She is a 2009 graduate of Northern Lebanon High School, where she was a cheerleader and ran on the Vikings track team.

Rhoads, whose husband, Kenneth, has worked with Stouffer's father, Scott, also said the power of prayer would be important in bringing Kortne Stouffer home.

Three men pause for prayer before the start of the prayer night held for missing Kortne Stouffer at Northern Lebanon High School on Monday. From left are Jonathan McCarthy of Manheim; the Rev. Jason Mitchell, pastor of Lives Changed By Christ Church in Manheim; and the Rev. Dean Cover, pastor of Living Waters Chapel in North Lebanon Township. (LEBANON DAILY NEWS BARBARA WEST)

"We're here because we believe in the power of prayer," said the Rev. Dean Cover, pastor of Living Waters Chapel in North Lebanon Township. "By being here, I hope you find some hope and comfort."

Cover prayed for God to bring Kortne Stouffer home, and he added a prayer for her parents, Scott and Wendy.

Cover said he saw the Stouffer children grow up in the church when the Stouffer family lived nearby. Kortne attended his wife's pre-school class, he said, and she would give his wife a hug whenever she saw her.

She and her siblings were part of numerous children's program at the church, Cover said.

"We need you to comfort us. We need answers. We go to God for that," the Rev.

Advertisement

Jason Mitchell, pastor of Lives Changed by Christ Church in Manheim, told those sitting in the stands.

Brian Boyer of Palmyra carried into the stadium several signs featuring Kortne Stouffer's photo and pleas for tips about her whereabouts. The signs are being sold to raise money for a reward.

"We're here to support the family and help with the reward," said Boyer, owner of Boyer's Signs and Truck Lettering in Palmyra.

All the money raised from the sale of the signs goes to the reward, he said.

Tory Funck of Jonestown places photos of Kortne Stouffer on display at a community prayer night held for the missing Palmyra woman at the Northern Lebanon High School stadium on Monday. (LEBANON DAILY NEWS BARBARA WEST)

At last report, the reward totaled more than $34,000.

Boyer said he did not know Kortne Stouffer, but he has known her parents and two of her brothers for about 15 years.

The signs come in two sizes, 12-inch by 18-inch for $10 and 16-by-24 for $12. They include a photo of Kortne Stouffer and details on where to report information about her.

Since Stouffer's disappearance, local police, the Lebanon County Detective Bureau and the Lebanon County district attorney's office, as well as Pennsylvania State Police and other local agencies, have been investigating.

Palmyra police Chief Stanley J. Jasinski Jr. said Monday afternoon there was nothing new to report about the case.

ODESSA, Texas (AP) — A West Texas man has been charged with impersonating an officer by using sirens and flashing lights to skip to the head of the drive-thru line at a fast-food restaurant. Full Story

Sufjan Stevens, "Carrie & Lowell" (Asthmatic Kitty) Plucked strings and pulsing keyboards dominate the distinctive arrangements on Sufjan Stevens' latest album, and in the absence of a rhythm section, they serve to keep time. Full Story